Yemen, Sudan, Occupied Palestinian Territory & other topics - Daily Press Briefing (7 May 2025)

Noon briefing by Stephanie Tremblay, Associate Spokesperson for the Secretary-General. Highlights: Secretary-General’s Travel Yemen Sudan Occupied Palestinian Territory Ukraine Haiti Security Council Science, Technology and Innovation Forum SECRETARY-GENERAL’S TRAVEL The Secretary-General is Denmark today, where tomorrow he will chair the meeting of the Chief Executives Board of the United Nations which brings together the heads of the UN system.  Earlier today, the Secretary-General met with Ms. Mette Frederiksen, Prime Minister of Denmark. The Secretary-General expressed appreciation for Denmark’s steadfast cooperation with and support for the United Nations, including for its role as host of UN agencies as well as its constructive role as a non-permanent member of the Security Council. The Secretary-General expressed appreciation for Denmark’s steadfast cooperation, as well as its constructive role as a non-permanent member of the Security Council.  Prior to meeting the Prime Minister, the Secretary-General toured UN City, the compound in Copenhagen that houses United Nations offices in the Danish capital. During a townhall meeting, the Secretary-General congratulated the staff for the work they are doing.  This evening, the Secretary-General and the heads of the United Nations system are attending a welcome diner hosted by the King and Queen of Denmark. YEMEN The UN welcomes the announcement made by the Sultanate of Oman regarding an agreement between the United States and the Houthis in Yemen on 6 May, and commend Oman for its efforts in this regard. The UN had consistently called for restraint and de-escalation in and around Yemen and the wider region. We also have called for an immediate cessation of Houthi attacks against merchant and commercial vessels in line with relevant Security Council resolutions. We reaffirm the need for all to respect the rights and obligations relating to maritime navigation in accordance with international law. We remain committed to supporting the Yemeni parties to reach a negotiated political settlement to end the conflict. The UN encourages all parties to engage constructively with UN Special Envoy Hans Grundberg to this end. SUDAN Moving to Sudan, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Tom Fletcher, expressed deep concern over the ongoing drone strikes in Port Sudan, which is a hub for our humanitarian operations and key entry point for aid. Mr. Fletcher stressed that international humanitarian law must be respected and that constant care must be taken to spare civilians and civilian infrastructure. Flights of the UN Humanitarian Air Services – or UNHAS – to and from Port Sudan have been suspended since May 4th. The World Food Programme, which manages UNHAS, says it will resume air operations as soon as conditions allow. These disruptions are impacting the movement of humanitarian personnel into Sudan and onward to other parts of the country, further straining the delivery of urgently needed assistance. Meanwhile, OCHA reports that drone attacks have also affected the states of Kassala and River Nile. Earlier this week in Kassala, strikes near the airport displaced about 2,900 people and led to the temporary suspension or relocation of some aid activities. Meanwhile, River Nile State is still facing a power blackout following a drone strike on the transformer station in Atbara on April 25th. The outage is contributing to growing fuel and bread shortages and long queues at petrol stations and bakeries. OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY Turning to the situation in Gaza, our colleagues from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs warn that the situation there is growing worse by the day. Yet we and our partners are committed to staying and delivering to help alleviate the suffering of the people exhausted by many months of fighting. Attacks on schools sheltering displaced people continue to be reported, leading to casualties. Yesterday in Deir al Balah, an UNRWA school in Al Bureij camp was hit twice in several hours, with dozens of people reportedly killed, including women and children. Another school in Gaza city sheltering displaced people was also struck yesterday, with reports that 20 people were killed. Across Gaza, community kitchens serving hot meals continue to shut down, as they use up their last remaining supplies. As of yesterday, one in every three community kitchens supported by the UN and our partners in Gaza has closed. Full highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date%5Bvalue%5D%5Bdate%5D=07%20May%202025


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